双胞耳蕨 shuang bao er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome ascending, ca. 4 cm in diam. Fronds ca. 60 cm; stipe brownish stramineous, ca. 2 mm in diam., densely scaly; scales brown, membranous, dimorphic; large scales ovate, up to 1 cm × 5 mm, entire, acute; small scales lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, up to 7 × 1.5 mm, slightly toothed. Lamina narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, ca. 50 × 5 cm at middle, lower part bipinnate, apex pinnatifid and acuminate; rachis amber, densely covered with small scales; small scales reddish brown, lanceolate or subulate, entire, rachis often with 2 proliferous bulbils near tip, bulbils densely covered with reddish brown scales. Pinnae ca. 50 pairs, basal pairs attached nearly at right angles with rachis, all other pinnae angled slightly acroscopically; pinnae shortly falcate, up to 3 × 1.5 cm, apices acute; acroscopic bases obviously auriculate, basiscopic bases cuneate, lower part of lower pinnae pinnate, with 2 pairs of free pinnules; pinnules ovate or obovate-rhombic, upper part pinnatifid to pinnatipartite; upper pinnae with 1 free pinnule or only pinnatifid at proximal base; margins of pinnules and lobes often reflexed toward base, apices with 1 spinulose tip, sometimes also with 1 or 2 lateral spinulose tips near apex, pinnules and lobes of basal acroscopic pinnae obviously largest; pinnules yellowish green when dry, scaly on both surfaces; microscales brown, linear, entire; frond texture thinly leathery; veins indistinct abaxially, visible adaxially, pinnate on pinnules and lobes; veinlets free, partial veinlets on basal pair of pinnae dichotomous to trichotomous. Sori small, abaxial on veinlets of pinnules, close to pinnule or lobe midrib, up to 5-7 per pinnule, 1-4 per lobe; indusia dark brown when mature, easily contracted and falling off.

● On rocks in dense Tsuga forests, uncommon; ca. 2600 m. SW Sichuan (Mianning).